Jump Into The Fire
by Admiral Daala
Summary: A young Luke Skywalker finds his soulmate...Please R & R!


_Set before A New Hope. Just a short what if story…Enjoy!_

He was coming into town to finish up some chores for his uncle when he spotted her. She instantly caught his eye from even such a long distance. The hot, blistering wind whipped her fiery red hair around like a crazed windstorm. His gut told him to ignore her, to finish up his chores and return home, but she was captivating him. And he hadn't even seen her face yet.

She was sitting on an old, broken stone wall, her back against him. He approached her cautiously and as quietly as possible.

"Sneaking up on people isn't very nice," her velvet voice carried through the wind and sent shivers through his body. The girl didn't bother to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he finally got up beside her and saw that she was wearing dark protective glasses from the sun and sand. Something that he wished he had. Tatooine was a bleak planet of sand, heat and nothing much else. It was a hard place to make a living in and even harder to live in.

"No you're not," the girl finally turned her head toward him. He couldn't see her eyes, but had the feeling that she wasn't much older than eighteen which wasn't much different than his own age.

"I could have or still kill you know."

_Great way to make a start_, he thought. He dared to take a step closer to you.

"Are you?" he asked.

The girl looked at him, assessing him over. With sandy blond hair, skin tanned from the intense suns and his clothes hiding his physique, he was sure she thought he was not her type.

She hopped down from the wall, startling him for a moment. "Come on," she started walking away.

He trotted up to her side and noticed how small she was but was sure that she could take him out at any moment. She walked with confidence, something he sometimes lacked and gracefully moved through the crowds on the street. He just followed her like a puppy in training, not knowing if this was his last day to live. At that very moment, he didn't care.

They found themselves in an ally and he was suddenly very much on edge. There was a speeder parked and the mysterious girl was powering it up.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She didn't respond. "I don't even know your name."

She finally looked at him, still wearing her glasses so he couldn't see into her eyes.

"Do you want to come or not?"

He did, oh he wanted to go with her, but what would this lethal girl do to him? Something told him he would be alright. He nodded. She mounted the speeder and waited. He took a shallow breath and then got on the speeder behind her.

She took off in a flash making him grab tightly onto her waist. He could feel her tense up from the contact, but eased as they weaved through the allies. She was very skilled a possible challenge for him if she ever wanted to race some time.

"Where are we going?" he shouted through the noise and wind.

She didn't answer and he wasn't sure if it wasn't because she couldn't hear him. Minutes passed or so he thought when they got out of the town and was flying into the dune filled desert. The suns were just starting, casting shadows across the land. The night creatures were going to start coming out and he should be concerned, but he wasn't. Not being with this fierce creature.

She finally stopped the speeder in the middle of nowhere. He looked around and found nothing significant about this spot. There were no buildings, trees or even brush. Nothing. No one would hear him scream or know if he was dead.

His enigmatic friend stayed on the speeder, powering it down and then pulled her wind-blown hair back in a pony tail. She looked around for a moment and then turned her head to him. She finally took her glasses off and he almost sucked in his breath. She had the most striking, beautiful and deadly green eyes he had ever laid on.

What was it about this girl that drew him in so deep? Her voice drew him back out of his thoughts. "What?" he asked lamely.

"I asked what your name is?" she repeated. He debated for a moment whether to tell her his name since she didn't give hers then whether to tell her his real name.

"Luke," he walked up to her again. He looked around again and then turned back to her to see her staring right at him. It made him very uncomfortable. "What?" He asked.

"Why did you just follow me blindly? I could have killed you." She got off the speeder and walked a few paces away from him.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. It's stupid really. I just had a feeling that you wouldn't and that I could trust you," his answer sounded stupid even to his own ears.

The girl gave him a piercing gaze. He wanted to fidget, but didn't. He didn't want to let her see how uncomfortable he was. "Good choice," she finally responded. She turned away from him. "I like it out here, away from the crowd. There's no one to bother us."

Luke could hear her take a deep breath and then suddenly turned sharply and ran right up to him. He fell against the speeder and was about to defend himself against her when she grabbed his shirt and pressed her lips against his. He was so taken aback he forgot for a moment to react. His mind kicked into gear and he wrapped his arms around her small waist and kissed her back.

It was nothing like he felt before. Sure, Luke had kissed a few girls before, but this siren was nothing like them. Lighting exploded between them, electricity running through his blood. He was sure she was feeling the same thing. They finally came up for a breath. Both were breathing hard and eyes were dilated. He looked down at her, trying to read her expression. She looked back at him. Passion dilated their eyes. His lips came crashing down on hers again and this time he took control. He took her hands that were clenched on his tunic into his own hands, backed her up a few paces and then lowered her onto the cooling sand. There, two young and lost hearts found each other making love.

Luke never knew that making love could be so moving, touching, and heartbreaking at the same time. They both reached peaks that only two who were meant to be together could reach. He knew deep down that this girl had completed him and she would hold his heart and soul. Something out there, some otherworldly force was telling him this. She was meant for him and him for her, but that he would have to let her go. Right now he would live in the moment.

They lay on their clothes together, both slightly trembling and sensitive to the light breeze cascading over them watching the stars start to peak out in the sky.

"My name is Mara," she whispered against his lips.

"Mara, it's perfect." Luke repeated.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed but they both knew it was time to get going. They dressed and got back onto the speeder. He hugged her waist, trying to memorize everything about this girl. Her smell, her voice, her sharp, emerald eyes and her blazing red mane he wanted to remember every last detail. Luke directed her back to the outskirts of his home so his uncle and aunt wouldn't hear the speeder.

"Will I see you again Mara?" Luke asked already knowing the answer.

Again, she looked directly at him, her eyes powerful and radiating. "No. But I won't forget you Luke. Never." She grabbed his tunic once again and with desire to fill the galaxy, she kissed him. She jumped back on her speeder and was gone.


End file.
